In this article I will explain with an example, how to implement Paging and Sorting in GridView without DataSource (SqlDataSource control) in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
Paging and Sorting in GridView without DataSource (SqlDataSource control) in ASP.Net is done using OnPageIndexChanging and OnSorting events respectively.
 
 

Database

Here I am making use of Microsoft’s Northwind Database. You can download it from here.
Download and install Northwind Database
 
 

HTML Markup

The HTML Markup consists of:
GridView - For displaying data.
In order to implement Paging in GridView, AllowPaging property is set to true and OnPageIndexChanging event has been assigned.

Columns

The GridView consists of one TemplateField columns and three BoundField columns.
TemplateField – The TemplateField column consists of ItemTemplate.
ItemTemplate – It consists of a Eval function.
For implementing Sorting, AllowSorting property is set to true and OnSorting event has been assigned.
Also for each TemplateField and BoundField column, the SortExpression property is set to the value of Column field.
<asp:GridView ID="gvCustomers" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false" AllowPaging="true"
    AllowSorting="true" OnSorting="OnSorting" OnPageIndexChanging="OnPageIndexChanging"
    PageSize="10">
    <Columns>
        <asp:TemplateField ItemStyle-Width="150px" HeaderText="Customer ID" SortExpression="CustomerID">
            <ItemTemplate>
                <%# Eval("CustomerID")%>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
        <asp:BoundField DataField="ContactName" HeaderText="Contact Name" SortExpression="ContactName" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="City" HeaderText="City" SortExpression="City" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" SortExpression="Country" />
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Configuration;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Configuration
 
 

Populating GridView from database

Inside the Page Load event handler, the GridView is populated with records from the Customers table of the Northwind database.
The SortDirection property is a ViewState property which is used to save the Sort Direction of GridView during PostBacks.
Once the DataTable is populated, it is converted into a DataView and then the SortExpression and SortDirection values are used to sort the data.
C#
private string SortDirection
{
    get {return ViewState["SortDirection"] != null ? ViewState["SortDirection"].ToString() : "ASC"; }
    set { ViewState["SortDirection"] = value; }
}
 
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        this.BindGrid();
    }
}
 
private void BindGrid(string sortExpression = null)
{
    string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
    {
        using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, ContactName, City, Country FROM Customers"))
        {
            using (SqlDataAdapter sda = new SqlDataAdapter())
            {
                cmd.Connection = con;
                sda.SelectCommand = cmd;
                using (DataTable dt = new DataTable())
                {
                    sda.Fill(dt);
                    if (sortExpression != null)
                    {
                        DataView dv = dt.AsDataView();
                        this.SortDirection = this.SortDirection =="ASC" ? "DESC" : "ASC";
 
                        dv.Sort = sortExpression + " " + this.SortDirection;
                        gvCustomers.DataSource = dv;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        gvCustomers.DataSource = dt;
                    }
                    gvCustomers.DataBind();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Private Property SortDirection As String
    Get
        Return IIf(ViewState("SortDirection")IsNot Nothing, Convert.ToString(ViewState("SortDirection")), "ASC")
    End Get
    Set(value As String)
        ViewState("SortDirection") = value
    End Set
End Property
 
Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Me.BindGrid()
    End If
End Sub
 
Private Sub BindGrid(Optional ByVal sortExpression As String = Nothing)
    Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Dim con As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(constr)
    Dim cmd As SqlCommand = New SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, ContactName, City, Country FROM Customers")
    Dim sda As SqlDataAdapter = New SqlDataAdapter
    cmd.Connection = con
    sda.SelectCommand = cmd
    Dim dt As DataTable = New DataTable
    sda.Fill(dt)
    If (Not (sortExpression)Is Nothing) Then
        Dim dv As DataView = dt.AsDataView
        Me.SortDirection = IIf(Me.SortDirection = "ASC", "DESC", "ASC")
        dv.Sort = sortExpression & " " & Me.SortDirection
        gvCustomers.DataSource = dv
    Else
        gvCustomers.DataSource = dt
    End If
 
    gvCustomers.DataBind()
End Sub
 
 

Implementing Paging in GridView

Inside the OnPageIndexChanging event handler, the PageIndex property of the GridView is set with the new PageIndex and the BindGrid method is called.
C#
protected void OnPageIndexChanging(object sender, GridViewPageEventArgs e)
{
     gvCustomers.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex;
    this.BindGrid();
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub OnPageIndexChanging(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridViewPageEventArgs)
    gvCustomers.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex
    Me.BindGrid()
End Sub
 
 

Implementing Sorting in GridView

This event handler is executed when a Column is sorted in GridView.
The value of the Sort Expression of the Column which was clicked is present inside the SortExpression property of the GridViewSortEventArgs object and it is passed as parameter to the BindGrid function.
C#
protected void OnSorting(object sender, GridViewSortEventArgs e)
{
    this.BindGrid(e.SortExpression);
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub OnSorting(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridViewSortEventArgs)
    Me.BindGrid(e.SortExpression)
End Sub
 
 

Screenshot

Paging and Sorting in GridView without DataSource (SqlDataSource) in ASP.Net
 
 

Demo

View Demo
 
 

Downloads

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